“For me, it is what I think of politics in this election, resembling more and more a crime story,” artist Krzysztof Wodiczko told journalist Kara Swisher in 1988. Wodiczko was describing the first installation of his piece: an image of two hands holding a lit candle and a gun, framing four microphones, projected onto the side of the Hirshhorn Museum in Washington, D.C. On Tuesday night, the museum kicked off a three-day resurrection of this decades-old piece as part of a new exhibition, “Brand New: Art and Commodity in the 1980s,” which runs through May 13.
*Update, 2/15/18: Following a school shooting in Florida on Tuesday, the Hirshhorn announced that it would not be displaying Wodiczko’s work as scheduled. The museum posted the following statement on its website:
“Our hearts go out to the victims and families of today’s tragedy in Florida. Out of respect for those affected, and in sensitivity to our public, the Hirshhorn and artist Krzysztof Wodiczko will no longer be projecting his artwork on the exterior of the building Feb 14th and Feb 15th.
Footage of the projection will soon be on view in the galleries as part of the exhibition Brand New: Art and Commodity in the 1980s, alongside Wodiczko’s functional sculpture Homeless Vehicle from the same period.
The museum and Brand New will remain open 6:30 PM–9:30 PM tonight and tomorrow.”
*Update, 2/27/18:
